KAZAKHSTAN: WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY -- INSPIRING STUDENTS

UNCLAS ASTANA 000661 STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, F, OES/IHB STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID EINV TBIO SOCI KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY -- INSPIRING STUDENTS TO MEET A CRITICAL NEED REF: STATE 17303 ¶1. SUMMARY: The DCM addressed a World Tuberculosis Day conference for medical students at the Kazakhstan National Medical University on April 7. The conference, entitled "We Can Stop TB," aimed to motivate students to get involved in the country's fight against tuberculosis (TB) -- a disease that claims the lives of over 2,000 Kazakhstanis every year -- and to generate awareness among the general public. The event also emphasized the role of primary health-care practitioners as a first line of defense in controlling the disease. Approximately 80 students and faculty from the Kazakhstan National Medical University attended the event, which several national media outlets covered. END SUMMARY. ¶2. The conference was co-organized by USAID and the Kazakhstan National Medical University, whose rector, Dr. Aikan Akanov, has twice served as Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Health. Dr. Akanov, a respected and proven champion in Kazakhstan's fight to control TB, reiterated his appreciation for U.S. Government support and recognized the friendship between the two countries. He expressed his interest in U.S. health sector commercial sales and investment in Kazakhstan. Dr. Akanov is a former cardiologist who speaks fluent English. KAZAKHSTAN'S TUBERCULOSIS EPIDEMIC ¶3. Kazakhstan's TB epidemic compounded by HIV/AIDS could potentially impact Kazakhstan's development. The TB epidemic presents a major challenge to the country's health-care system and to its economy via decreased workforce productivity. Kazakhstan suffers from one of the world's highest recorded rates of TB. In Kazakhstan, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) latest figures, 139 people per 100,000 have TB, as opposed to six per 100,000 in the United States. Further exacerbating the epidemic is the emergence of "multi-drug-resistant" (MDR) TB, a form of TB which cannot be treated with a standard course of antibiotics. WHO identifies Kazakhstan as one of the world's 22 highest-burden countries faced with the prevalence of this deadlier version of TB. Factors that contribute to the spread of MDR TB include deviation from international treatment standards, interruptions in drug supply, poor patient compliance with treatment, and poor infection control in TB and penitentiary facilities. ; CHALLENGES IN TREATMENT: TB VERSUS MDR TB ¶4. It is far easier to treat "normal" TB than drug-resistant forms. Patients infected with "normal" TB face treatment regimens lasting between six and 12 months with a standard course of antibiotics that are affordable ($40) and readily available. However, to cure MDR TB, the patient must undergo at least two years of treatment with a more complex regimen of drugs that are up to 1,000 times more expensive than the standard course of antibiotics. Drug-resistant TB is a concern because treatment can be debilitating -- not just due to duration of treatment, but also due to the side effects caused by the more sophisticated antibiotics. Further, all who are infected by a drug-resistant TB carrier also acquire a resistant form of the infection. WHO IS AT RISK? ¶5. Populations most at risk of becoming infected with TB are prisoners and people living with HIV, which is predominantly spread via injected drug use in Kazakhstan. TB is the leading cause of death among HIV patients worldwide and in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan National AIDS Center reported that 40 percent of HIV patients died from TB in 2008. The challenge for prisoners is not only contracting TB and/or HIV in prison, but also defaulting from treatment upon release. HISTORY IS PARTLY TO BLAME ¶6. A legacy of Soviet times, Kazakhstan's health-care system relies on many "vertical" structures -- that is, highly independent, stand-alone facilities charged with diagnosing and treating specific diseases or conditions. The TB and HIV/AIDS systems of care are typical vertical structures, operating separate databases and using different protocols that allow for little interaction or collaboration outside the disease-specific facilities. These vertical structures present an obstacle for HIV-positive patients in need of TB diagnosis, counselling, and treatment, and vice-versa for TB patients. Prisoners participate in yet another vertical system of care that is not connected to civil health-care systems, presenting problems for newly-released prisoners who are suffering from TB and/or HIV. THE RESPONSE IN KAZAKHSTAN ¶7. In 1998, Kazakhstan adopted the "DOTS" strategy, the internationally-recognized approach to controlling TB. One year later, Kazakhstan reported 100% DOTS coverage in the civilian system, and models have since been developed for TB management in prisons. This "success" is deceptive: the quality of DOTS implementation has been questionable, with good detection rates, but low treatment-success rates. Although the Government has drafted a number of TB-control decrees (e.g., a 2008-2012 national TB plan, and TB and MDR TB management guidelines),there remains a dearth of specialists who can interpret and analyze data, conduct operational research, test interventions, design evidence-based action plans, and monitor impact. ¶8. Despite shortages of trained TB specialists and inadequate technical capacity to treat MDR TB, the Government of Kazakhstan would like to rapidly scale up MDR TB case management nationwide. To guard against resistance to MDR TB drugs, TB medical staff must be well-trained to monitor treatment and resistance, and MDR TB drugs are made available consistently and affordably throughout Kazakhstan. ¶9. In concert with the World Bank; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria; and other donors, the U.S. Government -- through USAID -- has responded by providing support to Kazakhstan's national TB program. Activities include expanding social support services to increase patients' adherence to treatment; providing better information to high-risk groups to increase care-seeking and early diagnosis; providing training to improve diagnosis, treatment, and support for those infected with TB; and improving the collection and use of data to make sound policy decisions. THE WAY FORWARD ¶10. Some efforts have demonstrated progress in the fight to control TB, such as enhancing laboratories' capacity to correctly diagnose the infection, and a pilot MDR TB treatment project in Almaty that had a treatment success rate of 84 percent compared to the national average of 76 percent. However, given the high rates of TB, MDR TB, and TB/HIV co-infection, it is clear that much more needs to be done to prevent the further spread of this disease in Kazakhstan. For example, although TB mortality rates were reduced by half in 2008, 18,000 new TB cases were registered -- of which 14 percent had a drug-resistant strain -- and 2,500 people died of TB. ¶11. COMMENT: The "We Can Stop TB" conference is just one of many activities to encourage Kazakhstan's medical students -- the prospective leaders of the country's uphill battle against TB -- to focus on this important disease. TB is not only a threat to Kazakhstan, but to the greater region and the world. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND